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Context:

CeNS develops iron-doped catalysts for efficient, low-cost, and sustainable oxygen electrocatalysis in clean energy applications.

News in Detail

Scientists at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) in Bengaluru, under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have developed a new, affordable, and efficient catalyst.

Unlike traditional catalysts that depend on expensive metals like platinum or ruthenium, this new catalyst uses nickel selenide doped with a small amount of iron, making it cheaper and more sustainable.  

Why Are Catalysts Important?

A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without getting used up itself.

In clean energy technologies, catalysts are essential for processes like:

• Splitting Water to Produce Hydrogen: This process, called electrolysis, breaks water (H₂O) into hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂). Hydrogen is a clean fuel that can power vehicles or generate electricity without polluting the environment.
• Producing Chemicals Like Hydrogen Peroxide: Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is used in industries for bleaching, disinfecting, and manufacturing.
• Fuel Cells: These devices use oxygen reactions to generate electricity cleanly, often for electric vehicles or portable power systems.

However, these processes are slow, energy-intensive, and expensive because they use rare and costly metals like platinum or ruthenium as catalysts. The CeNS team’s new catalyst addresses these challenges.

Recent Developments

The CeNS researchers created a catalyst using nickel selenide (a compound of nickel and selenium) and enhanced it by adding a small amount of iron (Fe).

How Did They Make This Catalyst?

The scientists started with a metal-organic framework (MOF), a sponge-like material with tiny holes that’s great for chemical reactions but doesn’t conduct electricity well. To fix this, they:

• Doped it with Iron: They added a small amount of iron to the MOF, which improved its ability to create active sites (spots where reactions happen) and enhanced its electronic structure.
• Heated it (Pyrolysis): They heated the MOF to turn it into a carbon-rich material, boosting its electrical conductivity. Good conductivity means electrons move faster, making reactions more efficient.
• Added Selenium: After heating, they introduced selenium, creating two powerful catalysts called NixFe1−xSe₂–NC and Ni₃−xFexSe₄–NC.

The iron doping changed how the catalyst’s electrons interact, creating more active sites and making it easier for reaction ingredients (called intermediates) to stick to the catalyst’s surface just right—not too tightly, not too loosely.

What Does This Catalyst Do?

Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) => This reaction produces oxygen gas, a crucial step in splitting water to make hydrogen fuel. 

• The CeNS catalyst, especially NixFe1−xSe₂–NC@400, needs less energy (lower overpotential) to drive this reaction and stays stable for over 70 hours, outperforming costly ruthenium-based catalysts.

Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) => This reaction converts oxygen into valuable chemicals, like hydrogen peroxide. The CeNS catalyst beats platinum-based catalysts in speed and efficiency, making it ideal for industrial applications.

Significance

Cost-Effective => It uses nickel and iron, which are abundant and inexpensive compared to platinum or ruthenium.  

High Efficiency => The catalyst requires less electricity to drive reactions, saving energy.

Long-Lasting => It remains stable during long-term use, unlike some catalysts that degrade quickly.

Sustainable => By reducing dependence on rare metals and lowering energy use, it supports environmentally friendly technologies.

Source: 

PIB